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DON BRENNAN, QMI Agency

OTTAWA - Swedish defenceman David Rundblad will likely never be grouped with the NHL’s biggest, baddest brawlers, but he, like them, caught a break Monday morning.

It came with the news that Matt Carkner had just undergone knee surgery that will keep him out of the Senators lineup for an “indefinite” period of time.

While it’s impossible to say how much time Carkner will miss, a conservative guess would be a month.

Rundblad, who was losing a training camp battle with fellow rookie Jared Cowen for the final vacancy on the blue line, is now ensured of starting the season in Ottawa.

“It’s unfortunate for Matt, it’s disappointing for him,” said coach Paul MacLean. “He’s a legitimate player in the league, he’s a legitimate heavyweight in the league, and that element certainly can give young players a lot of comfort on some cold nights on the road. We’re going to miss that element that he brings to the team. On the ice and off the ice. His work habits are exemplary. We’re also going to miss that.”

The good news is that Peter Regin is expected to rejoin the team for Tuesday’s practice. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll play in Friday’s opener, but it does increase the odds.

If Regin isn’t deemed ready, the Senators could look a lot like they did during Monday’s skate when they visit the Detroit Red Wings. That is, with lines of Milan Michalek-Jason Spezza-Nikita Filatov, Colin Greening-Mika Zibanejad-Daniel Alfredsson, Nick Foligno-Zack Smith-Chris Neil, Erik Condra-Zenon Konopka-Bobby Butler.

If Regin’s injured shoulder and his timing and conditioning are okay after missing the past week, he’ll likely step on to the second line and bump Greening.

That wouldn’t distress Greening, who said he didn’t have any “expectations” as to where he would fit in.

“I was lucky enough to get in five pre-season games and I felt like Boston was probably one of my better ones ... I was able to finally get the monkey off my back and get a point,” Greening said of his camp. “The only thing I told myself is, I’ll just play wherever they put me. I think that I can compliment a lot of people. Whether I’m on a fourth line, or just penalty killing, or whatever, I think that it’s important to try and compliment the guys on my line.”

While Zibanejad has been the surprise of camp, the disappointment could be Butler, who scored 45 goals in his first season as a pro and was considered a candidate for a Top 6 spot.

In six pre-season games, however, he did not get a point and was a minus-4.

“Bobby Butler is supposed to be a goal scorer and he hasn’t scored,” said GM Bryan Murray. “Whether he’s been provided the same amount of ice time and opportunity, I’m not sure. But Bobby will end up being fine. He’s a competitive guy that shoots the puck well. When he gets a chance when we drop the puck, I believe he’ll be one of the guys that after a few games you’ll say, ‘you know what, he didn’t do it in pre-season but he is a good pro.”

It’s expected the same will be said someday about Cowen and Rundblad, but right now both are just 20.

At Monday’s practice, the pairings saw Cowen playing with Sergei Gonchar, Filip Kuba skating with Erik Karlsson and Chris Phillips beside Brian Lee. Rundblad was worked into the rotation.

MacLean didn’t rule out the possibility of occasionally sitting a rookie who needs playing time to develop.

“Somebody has to (sit),” he said. “I’m not sure how we’re going to do it. You go on the road in the NHL, it’s a hard league to learn in. Sometimes having two young defencemen out there might become a bit of a hazard. We’re going to study it and we’ll make the decision we think is best for the team to win, no matter who ends up sitting in the press box.”

The knock on Rundblad had been his play without the puck, but MacLean said that was better in the final pre-season game.

“I thought he played well defensively, he did a lot of good things with the puck to elude checks and make exit passes,” said MacLean, who added that Cowen may have been the team’s best defenceman in camp. “But it’s a good two weeks for him. Time is what makes you a National Hockey League player. Expectations for him are to remain the same, knowing that at the same time young players tend to go up and down... we have to make sure we continue to impress upon him the need to be here every day, and to do it right every day. So far he has.”